Clippers dominate Jazz, snap 3-game skid
INGLEWOOD — It wasn’t the start Clippers Coach Tyronn Lue had hoped to see. And he might have wanted to cover his eyes through the middle. It was, however, the finish he wanted to see from his team.
The Clippers, despite more than a few shaky moments, overcame a short-handed but resilient Utah Jazz team for a 130-110 victory at Intuit Dome, snapping a three-game losing streak.
But it took solid shooting by James Harden and Norman Powell in the second half to hold off the Jazz, who were without four of their five starters.
Harden scored 16 of his 23 points in the latter half, while Powell had 11 of his 26 points after halftime to propel the Clippers (29-23) past the Jazz (12-39).
Harden also had a season-high 17 assists.
Center Ivica Zubac was again dominating inside with a season-high 26 points on 13-of-16 shooting and 15 rebounds as the Clippers outscored the Jazz in the paint, 78-42. Zubac also had five assists, and one blocked shot.
Amir Coffey added 17 points off the bench, while Kawhi Leonard had a quiet night with 10 points and five rebounds in 31 minutes.
Lue said before the game, the Clippers needed another big first quarter, like the last game when they scored 42 points in the first quarter of a loss to the Indiana Pacers. He wanted to use that start as something of a building block in the next game.
“I thought it was a step in the right direction,” he said. “If our mindset and our intentions are right then you can live with the results. But before that, the first three games, I didn’t think we had the right mindset, the right intent. So hopefully we can build off the first quarter that we had against Indiana two days ago and kind of go from there.”
Instead, his team watched his team retreat against a group of Jazz reserves who ran out to a 12-point lead behind eight 3-pointers, four by Jordan Clarkson. Although their shooting cooled off, the Jazz held a 30-29 lead early on.
The Clippers managed to get moving in the right direction in the second quarter but not before failing to stop the Jazz, who regained a double-digit lead less than four minutes into the quarter. The Clippers, who have struggled offensively lately, manage to find a groove and get back into the game behind the play of Powell and Zubac.
Powell, who had three points in the first quarter, scored 16 by halftime, while Zubac had 12 points, enabling the Clippers to pull close, 54-53. They eventually took a 58-54 lead on a three-point play by Powell with 24 seconds left in the half.
Isiah Collier closed out the half with a driving layup.
The Utah Jazz, one of the worst teams in the league, came into the game without four of their five starters.
With the Jazz set to visit the streaking Lakers on Monday, they sat John Collins (rest) Walker Kessler (shoulder) Lauri Markkanen (back) Collin Sexton (ankle). Taylor Hendricks is out because of a fractured fibula, while KJ Martin and Josh Richardson were not with the team because of pending trades.
Back-up center Drew Eubanks, who was acquired last week in a trade with the Jazz, suffered a sprained left ankle in the second quarter and did not return. He had four points and three rebounds in six minutes.